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Young Kids, Hard Time

02/12/2013

"Young Kids, Hard Time” documents the reality faced by young kids serving long sentences behind adult prison walls. According to the Campaign for Youth Justice, an estimated 250,000 youths are tried, sentenced, or incarcerated as adults every year across the United States. In twenty-two states as well as the District of Columbia, children as young as seven can be prosecuted and tried in adult court.

“Young Kids, Hard Time” reveals what life is like for kids as young as 12 who will grow up behind bars. The Youth Incarcerated as Adults (YIA) cellblock in Wabash Valley Correctional Facility is home to 53 kids who are rarely permitted to leave the unit, due to the dangers posed by the adult prisoners just outside their door. But once a youth offender turns 18, they begin the immediate transition into the general prison population, where thousands of adult prisoners await. “Young Kids, Hard Time” explores post-conviction life for children staring down decades behind bars, illuminating the effects of sentencing kids to the adult prison system, and whether or not this practice leads to a safer society.